Talks show Iran open to pressure - Israeli official

Featured Broker sponsored link

JERUSALEM, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Talks that produced a draft deal presented on Wednesday to Iran and three world powers by the U.N. nuclear agency prove that Tehran is vulnerable to international pressure, a senior Israeli defence official said.

The remarks by Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai came as Israelis debate the value of diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's nuclear programme.

Many Israelis are sceptical that Tehran is open to persuasion. Their leaders have made clear they may use force instead if talks do not deliver the results they want.

"This proves just how much international pressure is significant," Vilnai told Israel Army Radio when asked about the plan for uranium stocks put to Iran.

"Iran is a country susceptible to pressures more than we tend to estimate."

Vilnai also stressed that even if Iran endorses the plan to reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium, world powers would need to keep pressure on the Islamic Republic to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons capabilities.

"It's a reason to continue it with full strength, and if we achieve something here, there will be nothing more important."

Iran declined to say if it would endorse the plan, which Western diplomats said would require Tehran to send 1.2 tonnes of its known 1.5-tonne reserve of low-enriched uranium (LEU) to Russia and France by the end of the year for conversion into fuel for a nuclear medicine facility in Tehran.

Though Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons, the lack of transparency around its programme and the virulently anti-Israel rhetoric from Tehran has stirred global fear of secret bomb designs that could draw pre-emptive Israeli military strikes.

Israel, assumed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal, and the United States launched an air defence drill on Wednesday as part of what Israeli public radio called preparation for a face-off with Iran.

Vilnai said Israel would examine the U.N. draft agreement cautiously, "paying attention to every detail", to make sure Iran was not just trying to buy time. (Writing by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)

Local woman raising funds for a school in Cambodia

Donna Martin loves being retired after teaching full-time for 34 years in the Chippewa Falls School District.

But while enjoying the more relaxed pace of retirement, she kept asking herself: “What are you doing to make a difference?”

Last summer, while on a trip to the Boundary Waters area in Minnesota, Martin found out.

She read an article in O, The Oprah Magazine, about how to help girls around the world. The article said a Web site, Cambodiaschools.com, builds an entire school in Cambodia, a country of 14 million, for a donation of $13,000. After the Asian Development Bank matches the donation (up to $30,000), a site is selected from a waiting list and a school is built by American Assistance for Cambodia. The group, which has built over 300 schools in the country, says $10,000 of the donation is used to build the school, and the other $3,000 for a general school account. (The contributions are tax-deductible).

“I thought $13,000 was nothing,” she said.

So Carol Martin, who retired in 2003, is setting aside money she earns by substitute teaching to build a school in Cambodia. She figures that it will take three years to raise the money.

Several people suggested speeding the process by taking her idea to community groups to see if they would be willing to donate. “That’s exactly what I’m doing,” she said.

She said she’s willing to speak to groups about the school project, and has a 10-minute DVD to show about building a Cambodian school.

She talked with the Chippewa Falls Senior High School staff on Thursday, Oct. 15, asking that the school’s service clubs keep the Cambodian school idea in mind for a project.

Martin said each school built by the group behind the Web site has three to six classrooms. The teachers are state certified, and each school has solar panels that give off enough power to run a couple of computers.

Each school is built in brick, because a wooden structure would not stand up to Cambodia’s monsoon season from May to November.

Martin said some people may remember Cambodia for “The Killing Fields” days, when murderous dictator Pol Pot killed thousands. Cambodia today is a democracy, and has been since 1991. “It is stable,” Martin said.

Many in the country live in villages of 100 to 400 people. Martin said 84 percent of the population lives in rural areas. “Half of the women can’t read or write,” she said.

So there are a lot of people in search of an education. “The classes are huge. The classes are 30 to 45 people in the class,” Martin said.

Martin said within 5-8 months of getting the money, the American Assistance for Cambodia will have the school built. “I could name the school. I could go visit it. And I could teach there,” Martin said.

The main thing, however, is to get the school built so students can begin learning.

“I’m hoping to do it in a year with contributions,” Martin said.

Cambodia investigates second killing on border

Phnom Penh - A Cambodian official accused Thai troops of fatally shooting a Cambodian national who tried to cross the border illegally, local media reported Wednesday.

The incident marked the second time in two months that Thai troops have been accused of killing Cambodians along the border in north-western Cambodia.

The Phnom Penh Post newspaper cited the governor of the provincial capital of Oddar Meanchey province as saying the victim, Sim Bun Chhim, 25, was crossing the border with two other men Monday night when Thai soldiers opened fire. The other men escaped, but Sim Bun Chhim was seriously injured and died on his way to hospital.

Thon Nol, the governor of Samrong, condemned the act.

'They crossed the border illegally, but [Thai troops] shot them like animals,' Thon Nol told the newspaper. 'They should have arrested them and sent them back to the Cambodian authorities.'

The Foreign Affairs Ministry was awaiting an report from local authorities before deciding on any course of action, spokesman Koy Kuong said Wednesday.

Last month, a Cambodian teenager was reportedly tied to an ox cart and burned alive by Thai troops after being caught logging illegally in Thailand.

The Thai government had said 16-year-old Yon Rith was already dead from gunshot wounds when troops burned his body.

The ministry spokesman said Phnom Penh had received a note from the Thai government refuting the allegation. Cambodian officials were still investigating the teenager's death.

'The note says that the Thai side agrees to cooperate with Cambodia to bring the offenders to justice but asked Cambodia to provide more evidence,' Koy Koung said. 'I don't know how long that [investigation] will take.'

Cambodia and Thailand have had a tense and long-running dispute over their 804-kilometre-long border. Violence has flared on occasion between troops on both sides, most recently in the area around the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple on Cambodia's northern border.

Family shattered in an instant

Lim Taing, the father of crash survivor Pho Taing expresses his pain after losing his daughter-in-law and granddaughter in a collision with a suspected drunk driver. (Lucas Oleniuk/Toronto Star)

Immigrants who persevered over war, separation and disease grapple with losses in fatal car crash

Wed Oct 21 2009
Jennifer Yang
Staff Reporter
Toronto Star (Canada)

The Taings survived war, sickness and poverty. But a speeding BMW shattered the family forever.

"In one minute. In one minute. Two die in just one minute," wept 72-year-old Lim Taing, his face covered with both hands.

His son, Pho Taing, was driving a minivan on Saturday night when it was sliced in two by a speeding BMW near Finch Ave. W. and Tobermory Dr.

Pho Taing's wife, Hon To, 44, and their 24-year-old daughter, Khan (Christine) Taing, were ejected from the minivan and killed instantly. Christine's godmother was also killed.

Pho Taing, 42, and a family friend, 36-year-old Hon Tran, were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

The speed limit in the area is 60 kilometres an hour and police estimate the 1999 BMW 540 was travelling at 200 km/h.

Roman Luskin, 21, faces numerous charges, including impaired driving and failing to take a breathalyzer.

Pho Taing has since been released from hospital and is staying with family in the Jane and Finch area. On Tuesday, he was too grief-stricken to speak about the tragedy and spent much of the day lying in bed, a table of pills and tissues at his side.

"He wishes he could have died with her," said Lim Taing, speaking through a translator.

"He lived only to get more pain. All night long, all day long, he cries all the time and becomes sick and pained."

Lim Taing said he was worried about his son, a man who loved his family deeply and had already survived many hardships.

Originally from Cambodia, the Taing family lived through the Cambodian civil war. In 1979, they were forced to flee following the Vietnamese invasion. Lim Taing said he and his wife went to Thailand while Pho, his second-eldest child, wound up at a refugee camp in Vietnam.

The two men wouldn't see each other again for nearly 20 years. Lim Taing eventually moved to Canada with his wife but he continued searching for his son, posting ads in newspapers and asking friends and acquaintances.

Father and son eventually reconnected in the early 1990s and in 1995, Pho came to Canada as a refugee. He brought with him a new wife, Hon To, and their young daughter, Christine.

"I was very happy," Taing remembered, closing his eyes.

But the family faced hardship once again when Hon To fell ill, about 10 years ago. She was diagnosed with cancer and doctors gave her five years to live, Taing said.

Pho quit his factory job to care for his ailing wife and the family began to live off government assistance. But Hon To, a devout Buddhist, fought the disease and ultimately outlived her grim prognosis by five years.

Meanwhile, Christine enrolled in nursing studies at the University of Toronto. She was set to graduate in March.

"One of the reasons she wanted to take medicine is because she wanted to take care of her mother," Lim Taing said.

Taing said his granddaughter was an "extraordinary child" who respected her parents deeply. She was so studious she would even avoid dating, he added.

Only recently, Lim Taing had been bragging to friends about his granddaughter, he said, expressing pride in her achievements. Days later, Christine and her parents were returning home from visiting a local temple when the BMW slammed into their car.

"(Pho) told me that he completely didn't see it coming," Lim Taing said.

When Pho awoke in the hospital, he didn't know his wife and child had died, Lim Taing said. On Sunday, he insisted on leaving the hospital to see them and only then did he learn of their passing, Taing said.

Lim Taing said he feels "only pain" when thinking of the tragedy. As for the other driver, he said his fate is now for to the courts to decide.

"Why (drive) like that? Why 200 kilometres an hour?" he asked, grimacing in anguish. "It's too much."

Luskin faces three counts of impaired driving causing death, three counts of criminal negligence causing death and failure to provide a breath sample.

On Tuesday morning, the Russian immigrant appeared in court wearing a white bandage around his left hand, with visible scrapes along the right side of his head. He was remanded in custody until Oct. 30, when he will return to court to set a date for a bail hearing.

Luskin has faced other charges in the past and in 2007, he was charged with failing to provide a breathalyser sample, possessing tools for the purpose of forgery and fraud, and a court order violation. The charges were stayed or withdrawn, although the record did not state why.

That same year, Luskin also pleaded guilty to five charges related to the placing of an electronic information "skimmer" on an ATM at a Kingston Scotiabank branch, according to a story in The Kingston Whig-Standard. He was given a six-month conditional sentence to be served in the community.

With files from Brendan Kennedy, John Goddard, Denise Balkissoon, Rosie DiManno and Jesse McLean

Govt forecasts growth to hit 2.1pc in Cambodia this year [-Keat Chhon dreaming again?]

A worker unloads locally produced bananas in Siem Reap. Minister of Finance Keat Chhon said Tuesday that agriculture would help prevent a Cambodian recession in 2009. (Photo by: BLOOMBERG)

Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Nguon Sovan
Phnom Penh Post

While rejecting alternative forecasts, Minister of Finance Keat Chhon says agriculture will drive economy this year and next.

CAMBODIA’S economy will expand 2.1 percent this year on the back of strong growth in the agriculture sector, Finance Minister Keat Chhon said Tuesday.

The agriculture sector was expected to expand 5 percent this year despite the recent destruction wrought by Typhoon Ketsana, he said.

Economic growth would accelerate next year to 3 percent, he added, led again by agriculture but boosted by a slight recovery in tourism.

However, he expected the garment sector to continue to struggle in 2010.

“The US market still doesn’t have any purchasing power,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a four-day securities conference that opened Tuesday in Phnom Penh.

The United States takes around 70 percent of Cambodia’s garment exports. Ministry of Commerce figures show US buyers took just over US$1 billion worth of output from Cambodia’s garment manufacturers over the first eight months of 2009, down 29.9 percent from $1.42 billion a year earlier.

The forecast, which Keat Chhon said was based on figures from the National Institute of Statistics, is a downgrade from previous government predictions of 6 percent growth this year, and is in stark contrast to recent projections from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which he continued to reject.

“We are not interested in debating forecasts made by the IMF and the ADB,” he said. “Our forecast for growth this year is 2.1 percent. That is based on figures from our National Institute of Statistics.”

Downwards estimates

The ADB slashed its growth projection for Cambodia in September, saying its reliance on exports, tourism and foreign direct investment left it exposed to the effects of the global economic slowdown.

It said then it expected the economy to shrink 1.5 percent in 2009 before expanding at 3.5 percent in 2010 as a gradual recovery in the global economy stimulated clothing exports and tourism. The ADB predicted in March that Cambodia would grow 2.5 percent this year.

The expectation of a 1.5 percent contraction matches forecasts published by the Economist Intelligence Unit since September but positions the regional body as much more optimistic than the IMF, which in late September forecast a 2.75 percent contraction of the economy this year.

David Cowen, deputy division chief in the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, also singled out the agriculture sector as a bright spot on the economy. Like Keat Chhon, he predicted agriculture would expand 5 percent this year. He also said agriculture would drive the economy in 2010, which was expected to grow 4.25 percent with the appearance of “signs of recovery in other sectors”.

The National Committee for Disaster Management (NCDM) estimated earlier this month that Typhoon Ketsana cost Cambodia at least $29.3 million when it tore through the country.

The bulk of those losses hit farming sector, with 35,681 hectares of paddy fields and 2,071 hectares of other crops damaged, said NCDM Communications Officer Keo Vy.

Cambodian law to ban rallies

Cambodian law to ban rallies

Lawmakers from the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) said the new legislation would ensure security and help maintain public order, but the opposition dismissed the law as another attempt to stifle freedom of expression. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIA'S parliament approved a new law on Wednesday banning demonstrations of more than 200 people, sparking fresh concerns the government is trying to silence dissenting voices.

Lawmakers from the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) said the new legislation would ensure security and help maintain public order, but the opposition dismissed the law as another attempt to stifle freedom of expression.

The law also requires groups to seek permission five days in advance of planned demonstrations.

Mass rallies in Cambodia have been harshly dealt with in the past but are now rare as the country enjoys an unprecedented period of political and economic stability after decades of brutal civil war.

The new law on protests follows recent tightening of Cambodia's defamation laws after a series of court cases brought against opponents of long-serving Prime Minister Hun Sen and his powerful associates.

Parliamentarians from the CPP have defended the defamation laws, which it said 'protected the dignity and reputation' of the country's leaders. -- REUTERS

Hun Sen to Thaksin : Run to Me

Published on October 22, 2009

(Posted by CAAI News Media)

If Chavalit Yongchaiyudh's decision to virtually lead the Pheu Thai Party is something of a political rebirth, he has hit the ground running.

One day in Phnom Penh and a bombshell was dropped on the already sour relationship between Thailand and Cambodia.

Following a meeting with Chavalit, Cambodian Premier Hun Sen told reporters how his wife cried at the mention of Thaksin Shinawatra's fate and how a plan to give Thaksin a home "that deserves his honour" was discussed.

"We have been great friends since Thaksin was businessman and the relationship has remained the same since he entered politics," Hun Sen said.

"Though I'm not Thai, I'm hurt by what has happened to him. My wife even cried on knowing about it and has an idea to build a home for Thaksin to come and stay honourably."

It was the closest thing to saying Cambodia would be willing to give Thaksin a political exile, an issue which will present both countries with an awkward situation, in addition to the Phra Vihear conflict, going into the Asean summit.

Chavalit, on his return to Thailand from the one-day visit to Cambodia, confirmed what Hun Sen said. And true to his characteristics, he created more speculation by suggesting he was ready to meet Thaksin's arch-rival Sondhi Limthongkul.

Sondhi's People's Alliance for Demcoracy reacted guardedly to that, saying that no matter what Chavalit had in mind, the PAD's fundamental stand remains unchanged _ Thaksin has to serve his jail term first, and the rest can be discussed later.

There have been whispers, though, that Chavalit had met another PAD key man, Chamlong Srimuang, before deciding to seek a "summit" with Sondhi. A Chavalit-Sondhi meeting, PAD insiders believe, is "possible". They said things could become clearer after key PAD members meet this coming Tuesday.

On Hun Sen and Thaksin, Chavalit said the latter would be given a house in case he wanted to have a long stay in Cambodia.

Chavalit met Hun Sen during his one-day visit to Phnom Penh yesterday as a representative of Thaksin-backed Peu Thai Party.

As a long time friend, Prime Minister Hun Sen paid a lot of attention to fate of Thaksin, Chavait said.

Hun Sen has known Thaksin for long time since the latter was a normal businessman who invested in Cambodia.

"Prime Minister Hun Sen and his family are neither Thai nor relative of Thaksin but feel sympathy to him and want to declare that they are friend forever," Chavalit said.

"They have prepared a beautiful house for Thaksin and give him an honor as a friend," he said.

Asked if the Thai government was concerned over his visit to Phnom Penh, Chavalit said no government official called him to express such concern since he just went there to visit his friends and did not represent the government.

However Chavalit also discussed border conflict at the area near Preah Vihear temple with Hun Sen and praised Cambodia's stance to solve the problem with peaceful way.

The border conflict could be solved via bilateral mechanism of joint boundary commission, he said.

"We don't expect the issue could be solved within a few days, it could be 20 years but we should handle it with understanding and friendship," he said.

On the sea boundary, Chavalit said Cambodia has not yet granted concession to exploit oil and gas in the sea overlapping area to any foreign companies but is waiting for the Thai government to negotiate on the issue.

SKorean men arrested for rape in Cambodia: police

• Foreign

2009-10-21 18:09

PHNOM PENH, Oct 21 (AFP) - Three South Korean men have been arrested after one of them was caught raping an intoxicated Cambodian woman in their private room at a karaoke club, police said Wednesday.

Authorities said the three men -- two restaurant owners and a tourist guide -- were arrested immediately Tuesday night at the club in northwestern Siem Reap province, home to the famed Angkor Wat temples.

Sun Bunthong, chief of Siem Reap's anti-human trafficking police, said the men forced an 18-year-old girl to drink beer until she was intoxicated, and then asked other women to leave the room so that one of the men could rape her.

"After girls who were not drunk were out of the room, they locked the door and one of them started raping her," he said.

The men -- whose identities were not immediately provided -- were arrested after karaoke club staff forced their way through the door and saw one of them raping the woman, Sun Bunthong told AFP by telephone.

The man faces a rape charge while the two other men face charges of being accomplices to the crime, he added. (AFP)

Former Thai PM Chavalit Visits Cambodia

BANGKOK, Oct 21 (Bernama) -- Gen. Chavalit Yongchaiyuth, leader-in- waiting of Thailand's opposition Puea Thai Party, is visiting Phnom Penh at the invitation of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Thailand News Agency (TNA) reported Wednesday.

Speaking before leaving for neighbouring Cambodia, Chavalit said it was a trip to visit an old friend.

The Thai-Cambodian dispute over the area around the 11th century Preah Vihear temple may be discussed if the Cambodian prime minister raised the issue as a friend talk, said Chavalit.

"Cambodia's relations with Thailand have not changed much but both sides understand some issues in different ways. That's not a problem," he said. "Relations will improve."

Tensions between Cambodia and Thailand over the surroundings of Preah Vihear boiled over into violence last year when the temple was granted World Heritage status by the United Nations Educational Science and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Meanwhile, Chavalit and about 50 former classmates of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra from Class 10 of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School applied to become members of the opposition Puea Thai party on Tuesday. All had retired from the military.

More retired officials from other classes will later join the Puea Thai party, the one-time Army commander said.

"Everyone wants to spend the rest of their lives to work for the nation without any demand for political position. I clearly said to the Puea Thai (leaders) and members that I want to be neither a prime minister nor have a seat in the cabinet. I'm content to work for the most benefit of the country," Chavalit said.

"The current conflicts indicate the political alertness of the public," he said. "Compromise and goodwill advice will be very useful to the country. It's a transition period," Chavalit said.

-- BERNAMA

Hun Sen will host Thaksin 'anytime'

If 'former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wishes to travel to Cambodia anytime... the Cambodian Prime Minister is ready to prepare a residence for (his) stay in Cambodia,' the television channel reported. -- PHOTO: AP

----------------------------------------

PHNOM PENH - CAMBODIAN Prime Minister Hun Sen is prepared at 'anytime' to host his 'eternal friend' the fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, the country's state television reported on Wednesday.

State-run TVK said that Mr Hun Sen made the invitation during a private meeting Wednesday with Chavalit Yongchaiyuth, a key member of Thailand's main opposition party Puea Thai.

The overt invitation to Thaksin, who fled Thailand in August 2008 to escape a jail term for corruption, is likely to frustrate Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has had strained relations with his Cambodian counterpart.

If 'former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wishes to travel to Cambodia anytime... the Cambodian Prime Minister is ready to prepare a residence for (his) stay in Cambodia,' the television channel reported.

Mr Hun Sen also promised to boost relations between his ruling Cambodian People's Party and the Puea Thai Party, the report said.

Relations between Cambodia and Thailand have been difficult for months amid an ongoing border conflict. The two governments have been at loggerheads over the land around Preah Vihear for decades. Nationalist tensions spilled over into violence in July last year, when the temple was granted Unesco World Heritage status. -- AFP

Cambodia passes law banning big demonstrations

By Ek Madra

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodia's parliament approved a new law on Wednesday banning demonstrations of more than 200 people, sparking fresh concerns the government is trying to silence dissenting voices.

Lawmakers from the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) said the new legislation would ensure security and help maintain public order, but the opposition dismissed the law as another attempt to stifle freedom of expression.

"This law is nothing more than just a ban on protests against this government," said Yim Sovann, spokesman for the Sam Rainsy Party, the main opposition.

"How does this law provide freedom for the people, when you have thousands of protestors who want to hold demonstrations but are not allowed?" he added.

The law also requires groups to seek permission five days in advance of planned demonstrations.

Mass rallies in Cambodia have been harshly dealt with in the past but are now rare as the country enjoys an unprecedented period of political and economic stability after decades of brutal civil war.

In contrast, mass protests since 2006 in neighbouring Thailand have helped topple two elected governments, triggering street riots, security crackdowns, a coup and an airport seizure, which has spooked investors and prompted credit ratings downgrades.

Cambodian Speaker Urges Expansion of Relations with Iran

TEHRAN (FNA)- Cambodia's Parliament Speaker Heng Samrin on Wednesday called for the development of all-out ties between Tehran and Phnom Penh.

Speaking in a meeting with Iranian Ambassador to Cambodia Seyed Javad Qavam Shahidi, the Cambodian speaker lauded the achievements made by the Islamic Republic of Iran in political, economic and high-tech fields, and underlined the necessity for the promotion of his country's ties with Iran and maximum utilization of cooperation capacities and opportunities by the two countries.

Samrin further felicitated Iran on the successful arrangement and holding of the June 12 presidential election.

The speaker also welcomed a visit to Cambodia by Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani during his upcoming trip to the Southeast Asia.

Also during the meeting, the two sides agreed on exchange of visits by the two countries' parliament speakers as well as parliamentary friendship groups.

Qavam Shahidi on Wednesday also met with Cambodian ministers of energy, mine and industry, science, sports and youth, culture and religion, deputies of foreign and tourism ministers as well as the mayor of Phnom Penh, where the two sides explored avenues for further cooperation between Iran and Cambodia.

The Prince and Preah Vihear

Prince Damrong visiting Preah Vihear temple (2nd from right)

October 7, 2009
SUBHATRA BHUMIPRABHAS
SPECIAL TO THE NATION

Nationalism has clouded our view of the temple's ownership, argues one academic. But history has the simple answer

On 30 January 1929, Prince Damrong Rajanupab arrived at Preah Vihear as head of an official expedition from the Siamese court of King Prajadhipok (Rama VII). There to welcome him was the French commissioner for the Cambodian province along with the archaeologist Henri Parmentier, who was to act as guide for the expedition's trip up Panom Dongrek mountain to see its famed centuries-old Hindu temple.

The prince and the commissioner exchanged speeches of friendship at a cheerful reception attended by the entourage of high-ranking Siamese noblemen, before listening to a lecture on Preah Vihear Temple given by the French archaeologist. Fluttering above this happy scene was the flag of France.

"This is recorded history - a history that must not be forgotten by Thai students," said historian Charnvit Kasetsiri, at a talk titled "The Contested Temple" given recently at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand.

"Prince Damrong accepted that Preah Vihear belonged to French Indochina," noted Charnvit, as he showed photographs of the prince and French commissioner posing together beneath the French flag. But the history that most Thai students are taught focuses on the loss of territory, he added, citing a Thai textbook for Grade 6 students.

"It asks us to remember the loss of territories beginning with Penang and ending with Preah Vihear Temple. But by ignoring Prince Damrong's visit in 1929, it effectively tells us to forget about the truth.

"This is history infected with nationalism."

Charnvit went on to show how the "infection" reaches beyond schoolbooks and into tourism - a brochure welcoming tourists to Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai talks about the "Losses of Territories and Survival of Siam", while Samut Prakan's Muang Boran [Ancient City] contains a replica of Preah Vihear.

Nationalism and tourism go together, he concluded.

The current case of Preah Vihear reflects the kind of "selective history" that stirs nationalistic feeling and leads to war-mongering threats to take back "lost territory", he said.

Following Prince Damrong's visit, Preah Vihear was left in peace for over a decade. Then, in 1940 the government of Field Marshal Plaek Pibulsongkram added the Hindu temple to its list of Thai archaeological sites.

Though the addition was announced in the pages of the Royal Gazette, there is no evidence that Cambodia's French rulers noticed it. In 1954, the year after Cambodia won independence, Pibul sent Thai troops to occupy the area around the Preah Vihear site. But Thai history tends to ignore this event, preferring to focus on the claim made by King Sihanouk at the International Court of Justice in 1959, which in 1962 awarded the temple to Cambodia.

Charnvit, now 67, recalled how nationalism was working on him the day he heard of the "loss of territory" brought by the court's judgement.

"It was a shock because all the news, all the PR from the military government, told us we were winning for sure," he said.

"We believed that Preah Vihear belonged to us. I was a 21-year-old student. I was so angry. I marched with about a hundred Thammasat University students up Rajdamnoen Avenue. I had a photo of King Sihanouk, which I tore apart, threw down on the street and trampled."

Finally, Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, leader of the military government at the time, made an appearance on television to say the government had no choice but to accept the ruling of the court.

Now, after almost half a century, the version of history that tells of the "loss" of Preah Vihear has been brought up to stir nationalism in Thailand once again, with nationalists saying they refuse to accept the International Court's 1962 judgement.

Bad history creates false perceptions and false perceptions lead to conflict between neighbours, the historian said.

"Our history texts must be revised and corrected to reflect the truth. Only that way will we be able to live together peacefully in this age of regionalism and globalisation."

Cambodia to re-develop typhoon-hit region

http://www.chinaview.cn/

2009-10-10

(Post by CAAI News Media)

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has ordered the government officials and relevant ministries to work together to restore the infrastructures in the Typhoon Ketsana-hit region.

The prime minister made the order at Friday's cabinet meeting. "We have to restore the agricultural infrastructures which were hit by the storm, and set up the top priorities for maintenance with our own financial abilities," Hun Sen said in a statement.

"We should ensure that no one died of hunger," he said, adding we have to facilitate to rebuild housings for victims to accommodate.

Hun Sen highly appreciated the local forces and officials who contributed to help victims timely, and thanked the charitable organizations and people for their help, according to the statement obtained here Saturday.

Nit Nhel, chief cabinet for National Disaster Management Committee told Xinhua that "so far we have not valued the cost of the damage. We have focused on offering shelters and foods for the victims, monitoring their health and other diseases.

"We played for a key role for coordinating other organizations in providing food because we want to provide for all victims," he said, adding the flood is starting to recede in some areas.

At the same time, Seang Soleak, spokesman for the Oxfam international in Phnom Penh said that "we are concerned about the food supply and its price for next year because many rice fields of local people were destroyed by storm and flood.

Now, the flood following the rise of water level of the Mekong River is affecting Kratie province and rice fields in Kratie could be affected, he said.

Last week, Ketsana storm hit Cambodia and killed at least 20 people in Kompong Thom, Preah Vihear, Siem Reap, Ratanakiri, and Mondulkiri provinces, and also destroyed hundreds of houses, roads, dam for agricultural irrigation, and thousands of hectares of rice fields.

On Thursday, Hun Sen said the government and the World Bank will study the impact and the bank will contribute for re-development of the region destroyed by the typhoon.

Editor: Anne Tang

Mekong Delta at serious risk of rising sea levels, say experts

VietNamNet/SGGP (Hanoi)

The Mekong is one of the three deltas on Earth that will suffer most from climate change. More than eight million people may lose their homes if sea levels rise by one meter, experts have recently warned.

The unavoidable effects of climate change will create worse flooding and acute shortages of fresh water during the rainy season.

Annually, 408 billion cubic meters of water flow from the upper Mekong River to the Mekong Delta region and through two main rivers of Tien and Hau, according to the Southern Irrigation Planning Institute.

The flood season in Mekong Delta falls in June and July and ends in November and December, with a peak flow of 28,000 to30,000 cubic meters per second.

“Farming areas, including Tram Chim, U Minh Thuong, Lang Sen, Tra Su, Ha Tien, Vo Doi, Bai Boi and Lung Ngoc Hoang will be narrowed,” said Le Anh Tuan, an official from the Climate Change Research Institute of Can Tho University.

The peak flow of the Tien and Hau rivers is between 3,000 to 5,000 cubic meters per second in the dry season, leading to a lack of freshwater in the Mekong Delta.

If forest exploitation and the change of land-use continue unabated, combined with an unchecked increased demand of freshwater in Thailand’s northeastern region, Laos and Cambodia, freshwater supplies in Mekong Delta will become drop even further.

Seawater already flows 40 to 50 kilometers inland, penetrating deep into the Mekong Delta, especially in the dry season.

Climate change will see an ever increasing encroachment of seawater inland, which will damage more crops and effect farm production.

Reservoirs used to store freshwater and a dike system at river tributaries to control water flow and prevent sea water encroaching further inland need to be built soon, said Ky Quang Vinh, director of the Can Tho City Environment Survey Agency.